VHO - Located on a hill that today is the administrative center of Di Linh district (Lam Dong), the old Dong Nai Thuong Provincial Town Hall has been built for more than a hundred years, but still stands tall as a living historical witness to the ups and downs of this land.
The first mark of the French in the Central Highlands
The Town Hall or Governor's Palace of Dong Nai Thuong Province is a solid architectural structure built in the early 20th century, in the political and social context of Vietnam under the control of French colonialism. This is a structure with a strong historical imprint, built not only for administrative purposes but also to demonstrate the power and presence of the colonial government in the Central Highlands.
Accordingly, in 1899, the Governor General of Indochina at that time, Paul Doumer, issued a Decree to establish Dong Nai Thuong province with its capital located in Djiring (Di Linh), to create resources to support the construction of Da Lat into a resort center for French officials in Indochina.
In the same year, the Governor General assigned a French architect and surveyor named Cunhac to build a City Hall here to serve as a workplace for the local government.
After many days of searching and surveying, Cunhac chose a suitable location to build the City Hall. It was a hill that was not too high but had a panoramic view of the surrounding area. Therefore, he quickly started construction immediately.
It is known that to serve the construction of the project, the French mobilized a large number of workers, mainly indigenous people. In particular, thousands of grave diggers were selected and brought to Phan Ri (now Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province) hundreds of kilometers away to carry and load materials to serve the construction of the project.
A year later, the project was completed and officially put into use. The completed mansion was designed in the French colonial Gothic architectural style, a popular style in many public works of this period in Vietnam.
Overall, the mansion has a rectangular shape with 2 floors and a spacious front including pillars, arches, doors, and large windows. Inside, there are 8 spacious rooms used as working and resting places for French officials.
In addition, on top of the building there is also a tower rising high like a rectangular clock. The four sides of this tower have doors opening in all directions. The construction of this tower is said to both increase the aesthetics of the building and provide a position for the guards here to easily monitor the surrounding situation as well as promptly detect and promptly handle any dangers that may cause to the government apparatus here.
The construction and use of this project marked the beginning of the expansion of French influence here and contributed to shaping the Central Highlands as it is today.
Living witness to a historical period
After being built and put into use, Dong Nai Thuong Provincial City Hall has witnessed and gone through many stages of development as well as changes of this land, especially the continuous separation and re-merging into different administrative units during changes in administrative boundaries.
First, just 4 years after the Governor-General of Indochina Paul Doumer issued the Decision to establish the province, in 1903, the French abolished Dong Nai Thuong province; at the same time, the Di Linh area was merged into Binh Thuan province, and then became a part of Lam Vien province in 1916. The abolition of Dong Nai Thuong province naturally meant that the City Hall of the old provincial capital was also abolished.
In 1920, when Dong Nai Thuong province was re-established, this place was requisitioned as the provincial administrative agency and operated until 1928 when the provincial capital was moved to Da Lat.
In 1941, when Da Lat was separated to form Lam Vien province, the provincial capital of Dong Nai Thuong province was once again moved to Di Linh and the old City Hall of this province was requisitioned again.
On the night of August 22nd and early morning of August 23rd, 1945, a historic event took place right at this Palace when the provisional revolutionary government forced the Governor of Dong Nai Thuong Province at that time, Cao Minh Hieu, to surrender, handing over the seal, weapons and other important documents to the new government.
After 1975, this mansion was requisitioned as the headquarters of the Provisional Military Management Committee for a period of time. Currently, the Di Linh district government continues to use this place as the headquarters of the district People's Council.
It can be said that the old Dong Nai Thuong Provincial Town Hall in Di Linh district is not only the first outstanding architectural work of the French in the Central Highlands but also an important part in the historical process of the Di Linh plateau.
Regarding this project, Mr. Vu Duc Nhuan - Vice Chairman of Di Linh District People's Committee assessed that this is an architectural work of great historical and cultural value to the locality, a witness to a historical period and a mark of the French in the Central Highlands; thereby showing that the French highly appreciated this land.
“In recent times, Di Linh district has always paid attention to the restoration and renovation of the Palace to avoid deterioration and damage. In addition, we have also submitted a dossier to request permission from the provincial authorities to recognize the Palace as a relic.
Currently, the Palace is the headquarters of the District People's Council, but we are thinking of moving it to another suitable location to renovate and transform it into a tourist attraction and preserve documents and artifacts of historical and cultural value of ethnic minorities as well as the formation and development process of this land," Mr. Nhuan added.
With its profound historical value and unique architectural beauty, this City Hall deserves to be preserved and promoted, not only as a symbol of the past but also as a fulcrum for the sustainable development of the locality in the future.
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/toa-thi-chinh-tinh-dong-nai-thuong-dinh-thu-co-nhat-tay-nguyen-113355.html
Comment (0)